Country October - November 2016

By nature I am a dreamer with a big imagination. As a kid I lost myself for hours in books and wrote stories about places I longed to visit. As the editor of this magazine, I’m blessed to lose myself in your stories and travels. Finding the career I dreamed about as a kid took me several years. But Jonah Riddle and his brother, Grayson, at 17 and 12 respectively, have already figured out that their future is on a stage. As soon as Grayson mastered the guitar, the boys and their father, Benjie, formed a bluegrass band called Jonah Riddle and Carolina Express. Their grandmother, reader Beverly Ball, wrote to us about them. I had the chance to interview the boys a few weeks ago for “The Bluegrass Brothers”…

Photography We appreciate a good picture around here. Our readers take adorable photos of country life. If you’re a shutterbug with images to share, send them to us. We might print yours, so please tell us a little about what’s going on in the photo. Themes we are looking for include back to school, birthdays and snow play. Local Flavor Country cooking simmers with yummy recipes, and we especially love any heartfelt stories behind them. Tell us about the cooks in your family whose meals always leave you wanting more. Or, let us know about a local restaurant that does down-home right. Please include photographs and a recipe if you’ve got one. What’s Old is New Again Do you find beauty in treasures from the good old days? Have you…

“My grandson Levi has a passion for cows like no other,” says Janet Kappers of Spring Valley, Minnesota. “On Halloween, he wanted to wear his costume most of the day. We were planning to go to his great-grandparents’ farm for trick-or-treating but couldn’t find him. There he was, out by the cow-yard gate, talking up a storm with our heifers!” CARE TO SHARE? Show us your candid country moments. Learn how to share a photo and caption in our guidelines on page 66!…

My wife, Kacy, and I first visited Brown County, Indiana, when we were on our honeymoon in 1998. Eighteen years and nine children later, Brown County has become an annual romantic getaway for us, as well as an occasional minivacation for the whole family. Nashville is a hidden gem tucked away in the hills and trees. There’s a small cluster of special stores, places to stay and excellent restaurants located along Van Buren Street and the connecting roads. As I said, we have nine kids. So when we have a chance for a break, Kacy and I like to go somewhere where we can relax and unwind. Here, the days just seem to have a smooth flow to them. We like to stay at the Cornerstone Inn, cornerstoneinn.com, or at…

When times seemed to be at their very worst, you could call my grandma Ida Sands and ask her to pray about your dilemma. Your prayers were always answered. Grandma was the sweetest, most loving woman I ever knew, and she had a very strong faith. Several years ago, my sister Cheryl was diagnosed with cancer and needed a certain kind of platelets to pull her out of her ordeal. No one in the immediate family had her type, and our parents were too old to be put on the platelet-collection machine. The hospital staff looked time and time again but said they had no platelets that were a match. We were all very scared, but Cheryl told me not to fear. “I called Grandma today and asked her to…

I live in Porter, Minnesota, a quiet and friendly farming community with a population of less than 200 people. In 1984, our residents got together and volunteered their labor to build a nice cafe right along Highway 68, which runs right through the middle of town. This restaurant made such a difference in the community. But we had a hard time finding a good cook recently. After trying out a few people who didn’t work out, the cafe had to close, and our town just wasn’t the same. So a committee approached my daughter-in-law, Becky Noyes, to manage the Porter Cafe & Grocery. She said she would need a lot of help but decided to try it. First everyone thoroughly cleaned and scrubbed the cafe. Then we painted the kitchen…